“You want to go back by Jorge’s on the way home?” Tom asked when they had dropped their passengers at the church and the homeless camp.
“No, let’s let them have their space. What I’d really like to do is go see Scooter.”
Tom was silent for a few minutes.
“I take it Aiden will be there, too,” he said.
“It’s his place of work,” Harriet said. “But that’s not why I’m going there.”
“Are you trying to convince me or yourself? And be honest.”
“My relationship with Aiden is not at a good place,” Harriet began. “And it has nothing to do with my relationship with you. His sister is trying to con him out of his money.”
“And it’s up to you to solve that problem?” Tom asked.
“I’m his friend.”
“I suspect he and his sister have been dancing to this particular tune for a lot longer than the less than a year that you’ve known him.”
“But he’s more vulnerable since his mother died. His sister is playing on his grief.”
“So you’re going to take his mother’s place?” Tom asked.
“We’re through talking about my relationship with Aiden,” Harriet said, her face turning red with anger.
They made the rest of the drive back to Harriet’s in silence.
He parked in her driveway next to his car.
“I guess I’ll see you around, then,” he said and started to get out.
“Wait, Please.”
He sat back.
“I know I’m not explaining this right, but Aiden is in trouble. He’s angry with me, and I’m not the kind of person who can walk away mad. I need to have some sort of resolution. You knew I was in a relationship with him when you came back to town. I never kept that a secret.”
She started to go on, but he put a finger to her lips.
“You’re right, I’m pushing you, and I said I wouldn’t do that. I just hate to see you so torn up over Aiden-again. Can’t you see? Love doesn’t have to be hard. And I’m not trying to scare you with the L-word, and I’m not saying we’re there now or ever will be, but I like you and I think you like me, and I’d like to see where things might go. No stress, no drama.” When he finished talking, he moved his finger from her lips and kissed her gently.
“Go see your dog and his doctor. Resolve what you need to, and if the offer is still open, I’ll come back here for dinner when the power comes back on.”
With that, he got out of her car and into his own.
Harriet pounded her fist on the dashboard once he was out of sight.
“I do not need this,” she said to no one.
Unwilling to face Lauren, who had stayed home to keep an eye on things, much less Pat and Lisa, she got into the driver’s seat and headed down the driveway and on to the veterinary clinic. The hum of the generator greeted her as she got out.
No one was in evidence in either the waiting room or the adjoining office area.
“Anyone here?” she called. She let herself into the interior hallway and headed toward the socialization room. “Aiden?” she called out again, this time louder.
“Be there in a minute,” he called back.
Harriet went in and turned the heater on. True to his word, Aiden appeared with Scooter and his furry pad a few minutes later.
Aiden looked tired.
He sat down across the small room from her and held his hands out, warming them at the heater.
“Can I talk to you for a minute?” she asked when she could no longer stand the strained silence. “I want to talk without you saying anything until I’m finished. If you don’t like what I’m saying, when I’m done, you can get up and leave.”
He held his head in his hands then raked his fingers through his silky black hair.
“Go ahead,” he said finally.
“I know I shouldn’t be sticking my nose in your business, and I’m sorry for that. I just want to say that before I begin. I asked my aunt and Mavis about your mother and her past.”
Aiden stood up, and she could see he was about to argue. She held her hand up to silence him.
“Let me finish before you react,” she repeated quietly. “I asked my aunt and Mavis what had happened in your mother’s past that your sister could be using to try to manipulate you. They told me that she had killed a girl in France.”
Aiden’s face reddened, but he kept quiet.
“She killed a girl in an accident-a tragic, unavoidable accident. The young woman was trying to escape an abusive boyfriend and ran into the street in front of her. There was nothing she could have done. The visibility was poor, and the girl darted out.
“There were witnesses who supported your mother’s innocence, but that didn’t stop the family from dragging your mom through the French equivalent of a civil trial. It was officially declared a terrible, tragic accident.
“Your mother was devastated. Your parents decided to move to America to start over. They had you, and life went on. Your mom never forgot what had happened. That’s why she spent so much money and effort working with women’s charities.”
Harriet paused for a moment to let him absorb what she’d said.
“Carla told me your sister was working on some sort of cut-and-paste craft project in the nursery a few days ago. I’m wondering if she faked some kind of proof to convince you your mother was a murderer-but she wasn’t. Your uncle Bertie is a murderer-there’s no denying that fact-but your mother was not a killer. She was the victim of a tragic accident, just as surely as the girl who died was.”
Aiden sat in silence for a few minutes then left the room.
“I thought that went well,” Harriet said to the little dog in her lap. “He didn’t yell or grab my arm or cry, even. Well, okay, I didn’t really expect that last, but you never know. He’s going to go think about things, and when he’s calmed down, he’ll realize his sister is crazy and he shouldn’t listen to a word she says.”
She held Scooter for the rest of her allotted time, which was up when a vet tech she didn’t know came to tell her the generator was about to go off again. She handed him the little dog after assuring Scooter he’d be coming home soon.
A familiar semi was parked in her driveway when she pulled into her garage, and she watched Kate and Owen approach in her rearview mirror.
“I hope you don’t mind us coming to visit,” Kate said.
“We won’t be long,” Owen added.
“Come on in,” Harriet said.
“I’d rather talk out here,” Kate said. “It looked like there were other people home, and what I have to say is for your ears only.”
“We don’t want to run into Richard Reigert’s wife or daughter. If I’m not mistaken, that’s their car in your driveway,” Owen explained.
“I have to say I noticed some animosity between you and Richard the other day.”
“That’s putting it mildly.”
The door to the kitchen opened, and Lauren leaned out.
“Anyone want to come in for coffee?” she asked.
Harriet, Owen and Kate all glared at her.
“Sorry I asked,” she said and shut the door again.
“Look, we have enough problems to last a lifetime,” Owen said. “We don’t need any more, and it seems like Foggy Point has more than its share right now. We heard the electricity is about to be turned back on.”
“And they expect to get one lane of the highway open within the week,” Kate said.
“We’re going to leave as soon as we can get out,” Owen continued.
“That makes sense,” Harriet said.
“Look,” Kate told her, “when we talked at the church, I didn’t tell you the whole story, and I feel like I need to come clean before we leave town.”
“If you know something that relates to either of the murders, shouldn’t you be telling Detective Morse?”
“You have to promise you won’t tell anyone until we’re out of town,” Kate pleaded.
“Neither of us killed Duane or Richard,” Owen asserted. “But we do know Richard.”
“Richard Reigert was the man who convinced us to invest our money in the Ponzi scheme.” Kate said.
“You definitely need to tell the detective.”
“If we do that, she’ll take us in for questioning. She may even hold us for a few days, insuring that we’ll miss our next load, and then we’ll have to get our lawyer involved, which will cost us even more of the money we no longer have,” Kate argued. “Please.”
“We just want someone to know that Richard has a lot of enemies besides us and to point the police in the right direction,” Owen said.
“I’m really not comfortable with this,” Harriet admitted.
“But you won’t tell anyone until we’re out of town, will you?” Kate’s tone was pleading.
“I can’t make any promises.”
“I guess we’ll just have to trust you to do the right thing.” Owen took his wife’s hand and led her back to the truck.
Harriet reached into her car to get her purse and noticed Ronald had left his coat when they’d dropped him at the church shelter. She picked it up and brought it into the house, laying it over the back of a kitchen chair.
“So, what was that all about?” Lauren asked.
“You wouldn’t believe it if I told you.”
“Try me.”
Harriet was trying to decide how much, if any, of what Kate and Owen had told her to share when the kitchen lights blazed to life and the clocks on the stove, microwave, and electric coffeemaker all began blinking.
“Oh, Thank you God,” Lauren said.
Harriet could hear the television blaring upstairs and the clock radio in her room beeping rhythmically.
“Help me reset stuff,” she said to Lauren.
“I’ll start at the top.” Lauren headed for the stairs.
Harriet flipped light switches and set the clocks in the kitchen before moving to the dining and living rooms. The dishwasher started filling with water. She reached over and twisted the dial to the off position.
“I gave an open invitation to everyone who helped clean things up at the quilt store to come for dinner two hours after the power came back on,” she called.
“Have fun with that,” Lauren called back.
“Oh, come on, roomie. You’re not going to bail on me now, are you?”
“I’ve got to go check out my place. I think I turned everything off, but I want to make sure the heat comes back on.”
“What if I go with you, and we stop by Jorge’s to talk to Aunt Beth and Mavis about dinner then go to the store if we need to.”
Lauren rolled her eyes as she came back downstairs.
“Okay, fine, but you owe me.” She picked up Carter and tucked him into her sweatshirt.
Mavis, Aunt Beth and Jorge were sitting at one of the tables in Tico’s Tacos when Lauren and Harriet came arrived.
“How did your clean-up project go?” Harriet asked.
“Jorge’s fresh produce was pretty ugly, but otherwise, his refrigerators weren’t too bad,” Aunt Beth reported. “We’re fortunate, I guess, that our storms come during the coldest part of the year.”
“It was about forty-five degrees in here until the power came on,” Mavis said. “The refrigerators have to be about the same.”
“So, how do we all feel about a party?” Harriet asked.
“Oh, honey,” Aunt Beth said. “I’m ready to take Curly and go back to my little house.”
“Too late,” Lauren said.
“What do you mean?”
“Harriet invited everyone over to her house for dinner two hours after the power came back on, which by my calculations was twenty minutes ago.” She smirked at Harriet.
“Everyone who?” Mavis asked.
“Just Joyce and Brandy and Ronald,” Harriet said.
“And Tom and Pat and Lisa,” Lauren added. “And I assume Detective Morse, since she’s got to come back to get her stuff anyway.”
“Well, if you’re going to do that then we should call Robin and Connie and Carla to see if they want to come over, too.”
“What do you want to cook?” Jorge asked.
“I’ve got some frozen chicken breasts I’m sure need to be used,” Mavis offered.
“Me, too,” Aunt Beth said. “We hit the same sale last week at the supermarket.”
“I’ve got plenty of potatoes,” Jorge said. “We could do mashed potatoes and gravy and fried chicken.”
“I’ve got green beans in my freezer,” Harriet said.
“And we can make some baking powder biscuits,” Mavis said thoughtfully. “I think I’ve got some canned cherries at my place, too. We could throw together a couple of pies.”
“We better get moving if we’re going to do all that in an hour and a half,” Lauren advised.
“We can call the others from here,” Jorge said. “I tried my cell phone, but they aren’t working yet. I suppose they’ll have to reset circuits or something.”
“Lauren and I are going to her house, and then we can go by the homeless camp to pick up Joyce and Brandy,” Harriet said. “We won’t be able to get Ronald, because we’re in Lauren’s car.”
“We can go pick him up,” Jorge volunteered.
Joyce was waiting in the common area at the camp. She had her arm looped through Brandy’s, and the younger woman was struggling to get free.
“Let me go,” she said, still sounding inebriated. “I need Duane’s money. We need to buy some brandy.”
“Duane didn’t have any money, and we are certainly not going to buy you any brandy in any case,” Joyce said.
“Come on,” Harriet said and went to her other side, putting her arm through Brandy’s and hauling her to her feet. We’ve got hot food, bright lights and a fully functioning furnace. And if you two want, you’re welcome to use the showers at my place.”
“Do you have bubble bath?” Brandy asked as Joyce turned her around and pushed her toward the parking lot. Brandy dragged her feet.
“Yes, I have bubble bath,” Harriet said.
Brandy straightened her jacket and pulled her arms free.
“Okay,” she said. “I’ll go anywhere for a bubble bath.”
Jorge arrived with Mavis, Aunt Beth and Ronald just as Harriet pulled into the garage with her guests.
“Come on,” she said to Brandy. “I’ll show you where the bathtub is.” She led her up the stairs and opened the door to the bathroom. “Let me get you some towels. If you want, I can run your clothes through the washer and dryer while you soak.”
Brandy gave her the first genuine smile she’d seen on the girl.
“Let me get you a bathrobe,” Harriet offered.
She opened the bathroom closet and pulled out a white velour robe with the name of an expensive hotel embroidered on the chest. “Here’s the shampoo and bubble bath, and there’s a hair dryer under the sink.”
Brandy stared at the robe, almost as if she were afraid to touch it.
“Here, take it, it won’t bite.”
“I’ve seen people on TV wearing these kinds of robes, but I didn’t think they were real.”
“What can I say, I’ve traveled a lot. Set your clothes outside the door, and I’ll pick them up in a few minutes and put them in the wash.”
She went into her room and waited until Brandy had slid her bundle out into the hall and she heard the splash of water filling the tub.
Jane Morse had joined the group while Harriet was upstairs.
“I came to pick up my overnight things.”
“You have to stay for dinner,” Harriet said. “We’re having a power’s-back celebration.”
Morse scanned the room, her eyes resting briefly on Joyce and then Ronald and Pat and Lisa in turn.
“Sure, I’d love to,” she said.
“I called Carla,” Aunt Beth told them. “She and Wendy will be over as soon as she lays out the dinner she prepared for Michelle and Aiden. She said they weren’t home.”
“Aiden’s probably at the clinic, but it’s hard to imagine where Michelle went,” Harriet said.
“I heard there was a party going on,” Tom said as he entered the crowded kitchen.
“You came to the right place,” Jorge told him. “Now I’m going to put you to work. There are some folding chairs along the wall in the garage. Can you bring them into the dining room?”
“Harriet, can you bring one of your folding tables from the studio and set it up in the dining room?” Aunt Beth asked. “Move the main table toward the window and you’ll have space.”
“Sure, I’d be happy to help.” Lauren raised her eyebrows and grinned. “You know you were going to ask me anyway.”
Ronald and Joyce were sitting in the dining room when Harriet backed in carrying her end of the table.
“What’s this I hear about Duane giving Brandy money?” Ronald asked in a hushed tone.
Harriet cleared her throat loudly. He jumped up,
“Here, let me help you with that.” He took her end of the table. “We really appreciate you inviting us to your home,” he added as he unfolded the table legs and locked them into position.
More people arrived, and Harriet and Aunt Beth directed the setup while Jorge and Mavis cooked.
“I think we’re ready to eat,” Jorge said finally, and Harriet carried the announcement to the living room, studio and front entry, encouraging people to assemble in the dining room.
“Where’s Brandy?” Joyce asked, her brow furrowed.
“Surely, she’s not still in the bathtub,” Connie said.
“I’ll go check,” Harriet said and went to the garage to get Brandy’s clothes from the dryer. She headed upstairs but found the bathroom door open and the light off. The used towels were neatly folded on the edge of the tub.
A quick door-to-door check turned up Brandy-asleep on Harriet’s bed. Her hair was splayed on the pillow, the robe demurely covering all but her hands and feet. She looked so innocent and peaceful, Harriet decided to let her be. She set the clean clothes on the end of the bed.
“Brandy decided to take a nap in lieu of dinner,” she reported when she rejoined the group.
“Is she okay?” Joyce asked.
“She looks fine,” Harriet said. “She’s just sleeping.”
“This is delicious,” Tom said. “My compliments to the chef.”
Everyone raised their glass and clinked it with whomever they could reach. People ate and drank and made idle conversation until the main dinner was through.
“The pies aren’t quite cool enough,” Mavis announced. “Perhaps we can have coffee and tea, and I’ll put them in the garage to cool.”
Harriet lingered in the kitchen, loading the dishwasher and putting food in the refrigerator. Lauren and Tom drifted in to help.
“I’m sorry,” Lauren said as she set Carter on the floor next to the heater vent. “I couldn’t stomach Pat playing the grieving widow any longer.”
“I’m sure she is grieving,” Harriet said. “Just because she was awful to her sister doesn’t mean she didn’t love her jerk of a husband.”
“Whoa, when did you decide Richard was a jerk?” Lauren asked. “He was a jerk, but you’re usually the last one to call a spade a spade.”
“When Kate and Owen told me they were actually homeless. The truck they’re driving belongs to a relative. They lost everything in a Ponzi scheme, and Richard was the guy who sucked them into it.”
“Don’t you think that’s something I need to know about,” Detective Morse said. No one had heard her come into the kitchen.
“I haven’t had a chance to say anything about it to anyone until now.” Harriet said. “And might I point out that our cell phones still don’t work? In point of fact, I was asked not to share that information, and I told Owen and Kate I couldn’t promise that.”
“Where are they, anyway?” Lauren asked.
“They said they just wanted to get out of town. I suppose they’re parked somewhere near the slide. They swore they had nothing to do with Richard’s death. And they didn’t really want to cross paths with Pat and Lisa.”
“At least they’re telling the same story,” Tom said. “They all agree Richard was a con man.”
“That doesn’t help us figure out if Owen killed Richard,” Detective Morse said. “It just corroborates the fact they had good reason to kill him.”
“You’re welcome to spend the night again, if you want,” Harriet told her.
“I may take you up on that,” Jane said. “Let’s see how long everyone else stays. I better go mingle some more, see what else someone might have forgotten to tell me.”
She turned and left the kitchen.
“Hey,” Lauren said, “I’ve got three bars of power on my phone.”
“I’m going to go check on Brandy,” Harriet said when she had the dishwasher as full as possible.
Brandy was no longer on Harriet’s bed. The robe was puddled on the floor, and her fingerless gloves lay on the rumpled bed. Harriet noticed the list of numbers she’d copied from Duane’s phone sitting on her nightstand. She picked it up along with the phone charger and took them downstairs.
“I guess she got up,” Harriet said. “She must have come down when we were in the dining room.”
“That’s weird,” Lauren said. “How could she have gotten past us?”
“There are fifteen or twenty people here,” Tom said. “And cleaned up she probably doesn’t look the same.”
“Whatever,” Lauren said.
“I’ll go back out and find her in a minute,” Harriet said. “But now that we have phone service again, I want to try some of these numbers I copied off of Duane’s phone. They looked like phone numbers, let’s see if they are.”
She plugged her cell phone into the outlet by the kitchen table then dialed the first set of numbers. An answering machine picked up, but it only identified that she’d reached the number she’d dialed.
“It’s a telephone number, anyway,” she said and began dialing the next one. She pressed the speaker button on her phone.
“You have some nerve calling here,” shouted a man’s voice when the signal connected. “If I find you before the police do, you’re a dead man.”
Harriet tried to interrupt, but the connection went dead.
“You need to tell Detective Morse,” Tom said.
“I gave her the phone almost as soon as I found it. They’ve probably already called all these numbers and his contacts with their sat-phone.”
“Try the next one,” Lauren said. “Someone semi-normal is bound to answer one of these.”
The next number had a “no longer in service” message.
“Okay, one more, and then I’m going to go look for Brandy.”
She dialed, and the sound of the ring was echoed from somewhere in the kitchen. She flipped off the speakerphone, and there was no doubt-a phone was ringing in the kitchen.
Tom and Lauren went for Ronald’s coat at the same time. Lauren got there first, pulling a ringing cell phone from the side pocket. She looked at the screen and confirmed that, indeed, it was Harriet’s phone that was calling Ronald.
“So much for Ronald’s claim that he’d never met Duane before.” Harriet said. “I don’t know what this list is, but Ronald’s on it, which has to mean they knew each other before they started living in the homeless camp.”
“Or maybe they charged their phones when they went to town and exchanged contact information,” Lauren said.
“I’m with Harriet,” Tom said. “Why would they pay a cell phone bill if they couldn’t afford a roof over their head?”
“Yeah, I always thought that whole fancy-tent routine was a little suspicious, too.” Lauren said.
“Let’s go find Ronald and ask him,” Harriet suggested.
She got up and went into the dining room, followed by Tom and Lauren. Ronald was nowhere in evidence. Tom checked the living room while Lauren went to the studio.
“I didn’t see him anywhere,” Lauren said. “And ditto for Brandy.”
Tom approached them and spoke quietly.
“Neither one of them is in the living room, but Connie’s husband said he heard Ronald asking Joyce about Brandy’s insistence that Duane had money hidden in the forest. He said Ronald left the room shortly after that.”
“You don’t suppose Ronald took Brandy to look for the money, do you?” Harriet asked.
“Considering how long a walk it would be, I’d say that’s a no,” Lauren said.
“We need to tell Morse,” Harriet said.
“Tell me what?” Morse said. “Do you have more information you’ve failed to report?”
“No, we just noticed that Brandy and Ronald are both missing,” Harriet told her.
“Yeah, right after someone heard Ronald asking Joyce about the hidden money Brandy keeps saying Duane had,” Lauren added.
“Hidden money? What hidden money?”
“We don’t know if there is any hidden money, but Brandy insisted Duane gave her money from a stash he had hidden,” Harriet explained. “And Joyce did say Brandy tends to wander in the woods.”
“They don’t have a car,” Tom said.
“But they are both missing,” Harriet countered.
“I can go check in the park, but it’s a big place,” Morse said and pulled out her phone. “I’ll see if any other officers can help.”
She dialed, spoke briefly then dialed another number, repeating the story.
“The patrol officers are dealing with an injury accident downtown,” she said.
“Do you want us to go with you?” Harriet asked.
“No, you stay here with your guests. If Brandy and Ronald are on foot, I should catch up to them pretty quickly.”
“Okay,” Harriet said. “You have my number, and our cell phones are working again, so let us know when you find out anything.”
Detective Morse put on her all-weather coat, grabbed her purse and went out into the night. She came storming back in, moments later. She was talking on her cell phone as she entered the kitchen.
“They took my car!” she shouted. “My lousy fire station Jeep. Gone.” She threw her purse onto a kitchen chair, punched a button on her phone and shoved it into her pants pocket.
“I could drive you,” Harriet offered.
Morse raked her fingers through her hair as she paced across the kitchen. She stopped and stared at the ceiling, taking a deep breath then letting it out in a rush.
“Okay, but you don’t get out of the car,” she ordered. “This complicates things,” she said, more to herself than to Harriet. “They’ll make it to the park ahead of us. After that, it’s anyone’s guess where they go.”
“I got the impression Brandy usually went farther down the trail from the homeless camp.” Harriet said.
“Do you have any idea how many hundreds of acres of forest that park has?” Morse shot back.
“I guess not.” Harriet got her purse and keys and put on her jacket.
“I call shotgun,” Lauren said.
Morse rolled her eyes.
“I suppose you’re coming along, too,” she said and looked at Tom.
“Only if you want me to,” he replied.
“Good, you’re staying here,” Morse said. “Let’s go.”
Lauren grabbed her jacket and wallet.
“Take care of Carter,” she yelled back to Tom as she went into the garage.
“I might be able to narrow down our search area,” Harriet said as she backed out. She handed her phone to Lauren. “Call Aiden.”
Lauren keyed her way to Harriet’s favorites list and touched Aiden’s name on the screen. She handed the phone back.
“I need your help,” Harriet said when he answered. “You said you ran on every trail in Foggy Point when you were on the cross-country team in high school…Can you think of a particular trail in Fogg Park, near the homeless camp, that would lend itself to hiding cash?…I realize it’s not much to go on…Okay, we’ll see you there.”
“Please tell me he’s not joining us,” Detective Morse said.
“He said there’s a place that isn’t too far beyond the homeless camp. There was a student-run drug operation when he was in high school. They hid their inventory in a small cave off one of the trails. He said the group was broken up and the kids sent off to jail. He said it was easier to show us then to try to describe it.”
“Oh, great.” Morse sank lower into her seat.
“There’s the jeep,” Harriet said as she turned her car into Fogg Park. Aiden guided his vintage Bronco in right behind her.
“That was quick,” Lauren said.
“You two stay here,” Detective Morse said as Harriet and Lauren got out of the car.
“What’s going on?” Aiden said.
“Two of the homeless people disappeared, and we think the guy was forcing the girl to lead him to a stash of money that may or may not exist and was or wasn’t stashed in the woods by the homeless man who was killed during the storm,” Harriet said in a rush.
“What?”
“Let’s just go look for the people,” Detective Morse said.
Aiden started down the trail at a ground-eating pace; Morse struggled to keep up. Harriet and Lauren went to the common area of the camp.
“Do you think Ronald killed Duane?” Lauren asked her.
“I don’t know. It could just be that he wants Duane’s money-if there is money.”
“But they had some sort of connection,” Lauren argued.
“You’d think if they knew each other, Ronald would have known about the money.”
“I suppose Brandy could be messed up enough to have imagined it all,” Lauren mused.
“Let’s go check out Brandy’s space again,” Harriet said and pulled a small flashlight from her purse. “Who knows what else she has hidden in there.”
She led the way down the trail.
“What was that?” Lauren asked as they reached Brandy’s space.
“What was what?” Harriet asked.
“Shhh,” Lauren said.
The two women stopped, and Harriet strained to hear what Lauren was talking about.
“If I had a drink, I know I could find it,” Brandy said in her customary slur.
The sound of a slap echoed through the woods.
“I’ll give you a drink, alright,” Ronald boomed. “You show me where Duane hid his money, and you can drown in it, for all I care.”
“It’s hard to see in the dark,” Brandy whimpered.
Harriet shone her light around the young woman’s campsite, stopping at one place where the branches that formed the backdrop of her sleeping area were broken in a regular pattern.
“Look,” she said to Lauren. “It looks like there might be a trail through here.”
They pushed their way through the brush, following the direction of the broken branches, and soon found themselves on a cleared trail that was above and parallel to a wider trail.
“That must be a branch of the main trail,” Lauren whispered.
They heard the unmistakable sound of flesh slapping flesh.
“Come on,” Harriet said then stopped suddenly and pointed.
They were directly above Ronald and Brandy-and Ronald’s gun. He poked the young woman in the ribs with the barrel.
“Okay, okay,” Brandy cried. “It’s ahead. You have to move that log to the side.”
“Oh, young lady, you don’t think I’m going to fall for such a simple ruse, do you? As soon as I bend over to move the log, you either hit me in the head or take off down the trail.”
“No, I wouldn’t lie to you, really. I promise,” Brandy whined.
“Let her go,” Detective Morse said. She and Aiden had appeared from a side trail. Morse was holding a nasty-looking black gun in her hand.
“It seems we have a standoff,” Ronald said. “Take another step closer, and I shoot the girl. Walking in the woods is not a crime, so you see, you really have no business here.”
“If you’re not doing anything wrong, let the girl go.” Morse said in a level voice.
“I think we both know I can’t do that.” He pointed the gun at Brandy’s head. “Now, step back and put your gun down, or this ends very badly for my young friend.”
Morse backed up and slowly set her gun on the trail in front of her.
Ronald had his back to Harriet and Lauren. Detective Morse was focused on Ronald. Aiden looked up and caught Harriet’s eye. He remained motionless, giving no indication that he’d seen anything.
Harriet backed up slightly, pushing Lauren backward until they were out of sight of either group below.
“What are you doing?” Lauren whispered.
“Morse doesn’t have any backup coming,” Harriet whispered back. “Even if we left here undetected-where would we go? Who would we call?”
“So, what’s the plan, Ace?”
Harriet looked around.
“We could hit him with rocks,” she suggested.
“And he could shoot Brandy as a result.”
“He’s likely to do that anyway. He’s got nothing to lose. And Aiden spotted us. He can distract Ronald, and we can hit him with a rock.”
“Are you nuts?”
“Maybe,” Harriet whispered. “But if we use a big enough rock, we don’t have to be very accurate.”
“We both know you have no backup,” Ronald said to Detective Morse. “And I’m thinking the fact you showed up at this exact location means you have some reason to believe this is, in fact, where Duane hid his money. I’ve been patient with you, but frankly I’m getting cold. So, what’s it going to be? Will I shoot you all? Or will you move this log for me and fetch the money?”
Morse looked at Aiden.
“We better move the log,” she said.
Harriet gestured at a large rock that was at the side of the trail. It took both of them to pick it up. They shuffled into position directly above Ronald.
Harriet looked at Aiden; he gave the slightest of nods.
On three, she mouthed.
They swung their rock back, forward, back again then launched it over the bank and onto Ronald.
Aiden sprang forward as the rock crashed into Ronald’s back, forcing him to his knees. The gun fell from his hand, and Aiden kicked it toward Detective Morse as he attempted to haul Ronald to his feet. Ronald’s face had gone white.
“His heart medicine is in his pocket,” Harriet said.
Aiden fished in Ronald’s pockets until he found the pills. He opened the tube with one hand and tipped one out. He pushed it between Ronald’s lips, but Ronald promptly spat it out. Aiden pulled out another one then pinched Ronald’s nose closed before pushing the second one between his lips.
Ronald gasped, and the pill disappeared.
“You’re not taking the easy way out,” Aiden said and pulled him to his feet.
Detective Morse took a pair of handcuffs from her belt and secured them around Ronald’s wrists.
Harriet and Lauren backtracked through Brandy’s sleeping space then down the trail into the woods, making several turns based on where they now knew the rest were.
“That was a risky move,” Morse said after she had finished reciting the Miranda warning to Ronald. “You’re very lucky it worked out.”
“I think you’re the lucky one,” Aiden told her.
Harriet felt the weight on her heart lift a little.
“This guy could have shot us all.”
“And would have,” Ronald said, puffing his chest out.
“Did I mention…” Morse asked, looking at Ronald, “…you have the right to remain silent? I suggest you exercise that right.”
“You want me to move the log?” Aiden asked.
Morse sighed a world-weary sigh.
“Given the resources I have at the moment, there’s little chance I can secure this crime scene, so yes, go ahead and move the log and see what’s behind it.”
“I can help,” Brandy offered.
“I think you’ve helped enough for one night,” Detective Morse said.
“I need a drink,” Brandy mumbled.
Aiden swung the log toward the clearing and pulled out several large dried fir boughs; his torso disappeared into the hillside. He backed out a moment later, a bulky leather messenger bag in his hands.
“Jackpot,” he said and handed the bag to Morse.
Jane Morse opened the bag’s flap. The bag was stuffed with stacks of bills. Harriet couldn’t see what the denomination was, but there was a lot of money in the bag, in any case.
“Harriet, could you drop us at the jail, please?” Detective Morse asked. “I want Darcy to process my vehicle as part of the crime scene.”
“Sure, but what about Brandy?”
“She’s home, isn’t she?”
“Oooh, that’s cold,” Lauren said.
“How about I take you and this guy,” Aiden said, “and Harriet can take Brandy and Lauren back to wherever they were before this all started.”
“That works,” Morse said.
Harriet and Lauren told their story to the group gathered in Harriet’s dining room at least four times before Aunt Beth finally said, “Enough.”
“I think it’s time to have that pie now,” Mavis said.
“I’ll get the dishes,” Harriet said.
“You’ll do no such thing, chiquita.” Jorge followed Mavis into the kitchen.
“Here, take this little rat,” Tom said and plopped the freshly walked Carter into Lauren’s lap. “He whined the whole time you were gone.”
“That’s a fact,” Connie said.
“Well, I’m back, and as soon as we have our pie, we’re going back to our house. We’ve had enough excitement for one day.”
Mavis and Jorge served cherry pie to everyone then helped themselves to pieces. Then, one by one, the dinner guests left, with Tom giving Brandy and Joyce a ride back to the homeless camp before heading back to the Renfros’.